Thursday, September 5, 2013

"Cold Turkey"

I can’t say it’s been easy.I can’t say I haven’t been tempted.I can’t say that the vestigial draw of a habit, once dominating but now
hopefully overcome does not sometimes urge me to abandon my commitment, and surrender
to the impulse.But so far, I have held
strong.I have resisted the pressure,
and stayed true to my agreement.

It’s been two month now since I went “cold turkey” and
stopped watching cable news.

And I think I‘m going to make it.

One day at a time, I watch reruns of
Have Gun Will Travel, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Marshal Dillon (the half-hour version of
Gunsmoke) and Gunsmoke (the hour version) instead of Chris Matthews, Rachel
Maddow, Chris Hayes, and Lawrence O’Donnell.(I have not sworn off television.People can change, but there is a limit.)

How did it happen?I’m not sure.There was no inciting incident, no “I got real drunk and I ran over a
puppy.”What happened was I just finally
reached my limit.Years of
over-indulging had inevitably taken their toll.My reaction, in the words echoed by that great philosopher Popeye:

“That’s all I can stands; I can’t
stands no more.”

I know this is tricky, to talk
about my decision to curtail an activity that others, possibly readers of this
blog, continue to enjoy and see nothing at all wrong with doing so.I have noticed that, more often than I wish
were the case, people who hold opinions contrary to one’s own are not content
to say “I respectfully disagree” but proceed directly to the incendiary “I hate
you!”Suddenly, you are disinvited to
their bowling party, and they stop reading your blog.

You know what they call a blog
that includes only opinions that you agree with?

Your blog.

My blog includes opinions I believe in.Plus – and there have been more than a few of
these – “I have not figured this out (and I am open to persuasion.)”

One day, enough had finally become
enough.Switching off my cable news
outlet of choice, I could hear my mind conclude, “I am not learning anything here.These guys are simply in a business.And their business model – the one that
maximizes their profits – requires them to not educate their viewers, but to
beat the bejeezus out of the opposition.

How many times have I seen an
issue come up, and the commentary excludes anyone who can explain why the
people in favor if it believe it’s a good idea.

“The Republicans have proposed
something really stupid.And to discuss
their reasoning, we welcome Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders who never liked them
in the first place.”

The cable station I used to watch once
complained about a Congressional hearing on which there was a panel discussing
reproductive issues that was completely bereft of women.That didn’t make sense.

And neither does this.

If you want to know what’s behind
people’s opinions, you don’t ask the people who disagree with them.You ask them.

I used to believe that cable news
was meant to illuminate the issues of the day, but I was wrong. Cable news is something else.

It’s a Pep Rally.

And that’s it.

Are the cable commentators
knowledgeable?Are they smart?Are they entertaining?Are they skillful?Sure.But have they ever applied their prodigious gifts to promoting one idea
or suggestion that would be acceptable to a constituency beyond their own
viewership?

That’s not their job, it turns out.

Their job is to fire up the
faithful.

And keep them coming back.

Fox started it.MSNBC fought fire with fire.And what are we left with?

Two fires.

Both profitable.

I am not cynical.I am just “partisaned out.”I don’t enjoy partisanship, or at least
extreme partisanship.Regular
partisanship is okay.It usually comes
with jackets.Extreme partisanship has
led to gridlock.And gridlock has led to
nothing getting done.

The way things have evolved, I am
not entirely sure about voting anymore.As somebody once said, “I don’t vote.It only encourages them.”Our
electees don’t need encouragement.What
they could use is a spanking.

I must admit that, still on occasion, as my
thumb has not been deprogrammed from reflexively pressing Channel 48, I will inadvertently “remote” over to MSNBC, and not immediately flip away,
drawn, like a former drinker walking by a bar, hoping to inhale a nostalgifying
whiff.So far, the Good Lord has been
with me, and when I go there, it’s a commercial.

On occasion, however, I do catch a snippet of their act.What I notice is that what I once passively absorbed
without question is now reminiscent of the ice cream I have tried after a week’s
stay at a health spa – too rich and unpalatably over the top.

3 comments:

canda
said...

Wow. Brave comment, since this is not the kind of thing anyone in a writer's room in Hollywood wants to hear, or would dare say.

The Partisanship coming from the cable "news" channels is only feeding the partisanship in Washington, and misinforming voters. The politicians feed on this, also, and appear on the news shows that agree with them and make their opponents seem like idiots.

This is true of both the networks from the left and right. Another result of this is the slew of negative campaign ads during election time, with almost NO other type of ads. These attack ads are picked up by the cable news networks as if they should be treated as facts.

Dear wise old man,Been there...agree with that!The other thing I can no longer take is all the yelling! TV is very intimate. The faces are right there in front of you, so there's no need to scream at your audience, Rev Al, Chris, Ed, Rachel and now, even Laurence, whose been ratcheting up the volume lately. Only little Andrea can't seem to summon up the energy to huff and puff.This is the home of righteous indignation....all day and night. They cycle the same guests and views on each show...seen one...you've seen the whole day and night. It's Iike they have one producer who decides in the morning what everyone will shout about that day, unless a forest fire breaks out somewhere.Earl, you haven't missed anything.I'm happy to join you on the couch to watch 'The Range Rider'!

I gave up on cable news years ago for one reason: Although I have no problem w/opinions I disagree with (other than I disagree with them), I have a real problem with lies & 'facts' that are made up. Mindless speculation based on those 'facts' is just too much, therefore all the cable news channels here are blocked & will remain so.